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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: board · tear · spring · cap · pit · bore · land · snap

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. land — to come down
  3. board — a committee
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bore — to drill
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. spring — of water
  9. cap — a lid
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. land — ground
  12. spring — the season
  13. snap — to click
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. tear — to rip
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. pit — a hole
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bore — to tire
  21. board — to get on
  22. cap — a hat
  23. tear — from crying
  24. land — a country

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com